The Celebrity Glamorisation of Drugs Is Irrelevant. There Would Be
Huge Benefits From Legalisation

[snip]

The most powerful role models are dealers, not celebrities. All over
Britain, men in gold jewellery flaunt their wealth at school gates.
Teachers tell me how hard it is to convince teenagers to get NVQs,
when they can have a career with Drugs Inc and aspire to make
UKP1,000 a day. Drugs Inc is one of the most profitable, successful
businesses of all time. The UN values it at about $330 billion,
almost as big as the defence industry.

The criminals who run Drugs Inc shift staggering amounts of stock
with no conventional advertising. They offer free samples to
children and discounts for trading up to harder substances. They
motivate their salesforce with threats.

As a result, drugs are now the second-largest revenue earner for
organised crime.

The profit margins, according to the Downing Street Strategy Unit,
are higher than those on luxury goods. Drugs Inc pays no tax. And
with so much money at stake, its barons are vicious.

[snip]

The only way to take back our streets is to wrest back control of
the drugs from the criminals, by legalising and regulating their
trade.

[snip]

Annual deaths from drug use (about 2,000) are still minuscule
compared with those related to alcohol and tobacco (about 160,000).
These figures are not precise, because some people abuse all three.

But it is arguable that the violence associated with the illegal
drugs trade does more harm than the drugs themselves.

The irony is that it is the UN and its drug conventions that are the
biggest barrier to progress. Its ideological war on drugs makes it
almost impossible for countries to be pragmatic. It has demanded
that Portugal, which decriminalised possession, should recant.

Yet Portugal has accepted the reality that in GDP terms, it is
dwarfed by Drugs Inc. As a result, it has seen crime fall.

The only way to make our streets safe is to wipe Drugs Inc off the
map. The only way to do that is to legalise the trade.

That would also redraw the map, because drug lords from Colombia to
Afghanistan would no longer find the trade so lucrative. The UN's
blindness to this is unforgivable: even worse than its failure to
understand that Amy Winehouse, despite her beautiful voice, is the
perfect health warning.

Marijuana crusader Marc Emery is blaming a clash of judicial
cultures for delays in a plea bargain that would send him to prison
briefly in the United States before serving several years in Canada.
The so-called Prince of Pot's extradition case was put over
yesterday until April 9 at the request of his lawyer and a federal
prosecutor representing the U.S. Justice Department.

No reason was given but Mr. Emery said outside B.C. Supreme Court
that there's a disagreement about the legality of the deal in
Canada.

Mr. Emery said that in the U.S. system a non-violent first-time
offender like him would normally be released in about 20 months, but
American authorities refuse to accept that.

He said the U.S. wants a Canadian judge to be bound by the agreement
for a minimum prison sentence, he said.

"What's at stake is the Canadian prosecutorial service doesn't think
that it's possible to make a deal where a Canadian judge is
compelled to do something specific, like put me in jail for a
minimum length of time or set some kind of parole date," he said.

"The Canadian government says that's not legal in Canada and that's
what they've told the U.S. prosecution and so the Justice Department
in the United States is saying that our deal's not possible - that
they have to actually put in writing - because the Canadians aren't
playing ball, so to speak."

The Vancouver-based pot-legalization advocate and co-accused Greg
Williams and Michelle Rainey are charged in the U.S. with selling
marijuana seeds over the Internet.

A plea bargain was in the works that would see charges dropped
against Mr. Williams and Ms. Rainey, while Mr. Emery would plead
guilty and receive a prison sentence.

[snip]

Mr. Emery said he finds the whole process odd.

"The Canadian government could just have me charged and that would lay
the matter to rest and they wouldn't have to be concerned because some
judge would come to a determination as to whether I should be
incarcerated," he said.

"This to me is more like collaboration with the United States. It's
like outsourcing our justice system to the United States.

Illinois state Sen. John Cullerton is making another run at
legislation that would make it easier for the seriously ill to legally
use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"This is about the patients. It's not about somebody abusing this law
to illegally obtain marijuana," said Cullerton, D-Chicago.

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved the measure that would allow
people to obtain a state-issued medical marijuana identification card
so they could legally possess and use marijuana.

[snip]

Lawmakers have debated Cullerton's proposal before and while in year's
past he has been able to get it out of committee, he's been short of
having the votes needed to be approved by the Senate.

"We expect this is the type of bill which is a long battle," he said.
"There's been a number of issues that didn't pass the first time and
we keep coming back until people figure out and believe what we're
saying."

A COMMON medication used to treat people with bipolar disorder could
help cannabis addicts kick the habit without suffering withdrawal
symptoms such as aggression and depression, a study has found.

Researchers at Corella Drug Treatment Services and the University of
NSW studied 20 people who used cannabis every day for at least nine
years, prescribing them 500 milligrams of lithium twice a day for
seven days. They found that three months after the treatment most of
the users were smoking cannabis less often, and many had given up
completely.

Cannabis is the most commonly abused illicit drug in Australia, and
the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre estimates that one in
10 people who try it will become addicted.

Heavy users who try to give up usually experience marked
disturbances in mood, sleep and hostility, which can cause them to
relapse, making recovery more difficult, but the chief investigator
of the study, Adam Winstock, said yesterday that the possibility of
finding an effective treatment to manage withdrawal was exciting.
"This was a very small trial, and it was carried out in hospital
with people who were highly motivated and did not have mental health
problems or used other drugs, so it had its limitations, but I'm
hoping the results can be matched in a controlled trial next year
because we were very impressed with the outcome." Dr Winstock said.

All the participants reported they had been abstinent for an average
of 88 per cent of the days since their treatment, and 29 per cent
had not used cannabis at all. Studies in rats had shown they
experienced an increase in levels of the hormone oxytocin when given
lithium during withdrawal from cannabis. Oxytocin is dubbed the
"happy hormone" and is released during lactation, orgasm,
childbirth, hugging and touching and can produce feelings of
wellbeing.

New Jersey's needle exchange programs are providing services, but
some are better funded than others.

Boise Weekly has an interesting interview with the sponsor of a
series of initiatives to liberalize cannabis laws in Idaho towns,
including the sponsor's contention that he's not really that
concerned about cannabis.

And, another state legislature is getting its collective undies in a
bunch over salvia divinorum. At least in California, they are
considering just banning it for minors, not everyone.

ATLANTIC CITY - It's hard to imagine things could be any worse for
Tommy Fagan.

The 25-year-old has been shooting heroin since he was 14, starting
by secretly pinching the dope from his addict mother. His 11-year
relationship with heroin has left him homeless, and in 2004 he
tested positive for Hepatitis C, a disease he says he acquired
because of his tendency to share syringes.

"I could be worse off right now," Fagan says with his face in this
hands, trying to quell a headache resulting from his head being cut
open by a box-cutter during a recent altercation. "I could be dying
from AIDS."

Instead, Fagan learned last week he tested negative for HIV during a
routine visit to the city's needle-exchange program. He says the
clean needles he gets have prevented him from contracting the deadly
disease or sickening others.

Fagan is one of more than 200 heroin users enrolled in the city's
pilot program since its inception in November. The program, located
on the second floor of the Oasis Drop-In Center, was the state's
first legal exchange and appears to be its only successful program.

In just three months, the city's program has registered 204 users
and sees about eight clients per day, according to recent statistics
provided by the city Health Department.

Every Tuesday between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., drug users looking for
clean needles and impromptu counseling trickle down to Camden's
needle exchange program, buried in the shadows of Interstate 676 and
the city's port terminals.

But, so far, turnout has been low and funding is scarce.

That pales in comparison to the state's first program, which began
at an Atlantic City outreach center with public funding and now
boasts a crowd of clients.

About 10 drug users were registered with the Camden program as of
Feb. 12, when Kim McCargo and a number of other workers stood in the
cold sipping coffee and waiting for new and returning clients.

Their blue van -- the one that houses the needles and provides some
shelter from the elements -- was in the shop. A dead battery had
rendered it useless.

On this day, McCargo, the program's director, and others stood by
their cars. Needles and other drug paraphernalia were stored in
their trunks.

"Our services are our services," said McCargo, of the program run by
the Camden Area Health Education Center. "We don't have anything
else to attract."

For the last four years, one Boise resident has turned Blaine County
into a lawsuit-fueled marijuana battleground.

Ryan Davidson has been a thorn in the side of city officials in
Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey since he began his campaign to
legalize marijuana in one of Idaho's Democratic strongholds. It
started with the 30-year-old's desire to make politics a career and
a chance discovery of the Marijuana Policy Project's grant program.

He was awarded a $60,000 grant, but less than a month later, the
group pulled his funding after giving him only $16,000.

Still, in the last four years, he took all three cities to court
numerous times, managed to get four pro-marijuana initiatives on the
ballot-three of which were passed by voters last year-and is now
threatening to put all four initiatives back on the May primary
ballot in an effort to force city officials to enact them.

The fact that the initiatives violate both state and federal law
hasn't seemed to faze him. In fact, he's preparing for another round
of lawsuits under the auspices of the Idaho Liberty Lobby, his
one-man Libertarian juggernaut.

It seems an unlikely path for a Canadian native who didn't move to
the United States until 1995. But his largely self-funded fight is
far from typical-especially considering Davidson doesn't smoke
marijuana himself, doesn't seem to care all that much about it, and
had never been to the Wood River Valley before starting his
campaign.

It's the principle he said he's fighting for. He has lost several
major lawsuits, had damages slapped on him by a Blaine County
District Court for filing a frivolous lawsuit, and nearly pushed
himself into bankruptcy, but one Idaho Supreme Court victory allowed
him to get his initiatives passed.

Now, as the City of Ketchum is threatening to sue itself over the
legality of those initiatives, Davidson sat down with BW to offer
some insight into his thought process.

BW: What got you involved in these issues in the first place?

Ryan Davidson: I thought it had the potential to be a good career
for a while-at least for the next couple years-going from city to
city doing local ballot initiatives, sort of paving the way to do a
state initiative some time in the future.

BW: What went wrong?

RD: ,Well, we handed in the preliminary petition to all three
cities, and all three cities refused to process it, surprisingly,
because their own city code [and] state code says you hand the clerk
a petition, they certify it, they hand it back to you. There's
nothing in there that they can look at the substance of the
petition.

BW: What did you do?

RD: I basically filed lawsuits against all three cities ... I knew
no attorney would take this case, we had no money, we were broke, we
were stranded up there ... so it's like, "I'm going to do it
myself." [I] didn't know what I was doing, I had never filed a
lawsuit against anyone before. [I] played around in traffic court
quite a bit, but that's a different thing. So, I filed a lawsuit
against Ketchum in Idaho Supreme Court, I filed a lawsuit against
Sun Valley in the local District Court, and then I filed a lawsuit
against Hailey in the federal court under the Civil Rights Act. I
kind of figured, three different courts, one of them is bound to pay
off.

BW: Why did you take it this far?

RD: I did this not for marijuana, I did this for the initiatives
process . For me, as an initiatives proponent ... I see the harm
that befalls initiative sponsors by having to go through litigation
before you can even get your initiative on the ballot.

BW: Litigation is like the death of the initiatives process, and if
the court or the government makes it so that your opponents can take
you to court before you can even get the initiative on the ballot,
it kills you, and it means that only people with a lot of money that
can survive a legal challenge can ever get an initiative on the
ballot. So I just saw that as a huge policy issue that we need to
take litigation and this kind of crap out of the initiatives
process.

RD: How have you been funding all of this?

BW: Just out of my own pocket. I work a low-paying job at a hospital
and I spend a lot of time on these lawsuits ... so I'm just poor.

Assembly Bill Would Ban Sales of Hallucinogenic Salvia to Minors;
Internet Seller Defends Its Use

SACRAMENTO-California kids legally can tune in, turn on and freak
out these days with a potent, mind-altering drug that is readily
available but targeted for a crackdown by police and lawmakers.
Typically smoked or chewed, Salvia divinorum has become increasingly
known on the Internet the past few years through sales on eBay and
through YouTube videos of users tripping with it.

The drug is produced from a Mexican plant used by Mazatec Indians
for healing and ritual prophecy. Users in the United States have
reported effects ranging from relaxation and sensual pleasure to
out-of-body experiences and frightening hallucinations.

"This is the first really new illicit drug in a long time," said Dr.
John Mendelson, a researcher at California Pacific Medical Center
who is preparing to study how much salvia users must consume to
become intoxicated.

San Luis Obispo County sheriff's officials said they are not seeing
the drug much locally but do believe it is extremely dangerous.
About 10 years ago, detectives came across an incident involving a
man who was selling salvia through the mail, but they did not
remember any other cases involving sales of the drug.

In Alabama, prisoners whose crimes don't involve "moral turpitude"
(including minor drug possession) should be able to vote, but that
hasn't been happening. An activist is trying to change the
situation.

Last week's federal prison report showed a continuing growth in
inmate populations. On a more local level, Colorado has seen its
prison population triple in 15 years. And, two more stories show
disturbing abuses among the ranks of drug law enforcement.

(9) IN ALABAMA, A FIGHT TO REGAIN VOTING RIGHTS SOME FELONS NEVER LOST
( Top )

Pubdate: Sun, 2 Mar 2008Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2008 The New York Times Company
Author: Shaila Dewan

DOTHAN, Ala. -- The Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, onetime criminal and
founder of a ministry called The Ordinary People Society, spent
years helping people with criminal records regain the right to vote
in Alabama, where an estimated 250,000 people are prohibited from
voting because of past criminal activity.

Then he discovered that many of them had never actually lost the
right.

Because of a quirk in its Constitution, Alabama disqualifies from
voting only those who have committed a "felony involving moral
turpitude." Those who have committed other felonies -- like
marijuana possession or drunken driving -- can cast ballots even if
they are still in prison, according to the state attorney general.

But it has been slow work cajoling public officials to enforce and
publicize the law. Until Friday, the secretary of state's Web site
advised, incorrectly, that those with any kind of felony conviction
could not register unless they had served their time and their right
to vote had been restored by the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Because neither the Legislature nor the attorney general has offered
a definitive list of crimes involving moral turpitude, there is no
way of knowing how many inmates are eligible to vote. But state
agencies generally agree that those convicted of drug possession --
at least 3,000 of Alabama's 29,000 prison inmates and thousands more
on probation -- are eligible. Most felons and former felons,
however, assume that they have lost the right to vote.

"This is an issue that's never come up before," said Richard F.
Allen, the commissioner of corrections. "I would think that if there
were any latent feeling out there that they wanted to vote, they
would have expressed it by now."

Mr. Glasgow, who is the half-brother of a far less obscure crusader
based in New York, the Rev. Al Sharpton, believes that not only do
inmates and former convicts want to vote, but also that their
ballots could alter the political landscape in this
Republican-leaning state, adding that his group has registered more
than 500 people by visiting a handful of county jails.

The number of Coloradans in prison has nearly tripled in 15 years,
costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

The prison population stands at 22,424. That number, plus 9,567
parolees and 13,200 people in county jails, represents more than 1
percent of the state's adult population, according to statistics
kept by the Colorado Department of Corrections and County Sheriffs
of Colorado.

The Pew Center on the States last week reported that 2,319,258
Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 - one out of
every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it's more
than any other nation.

The study found that 8.8 percent of Colorado's general fund - $599
million - was spent on corrections in 2007, compared with the
national average of 6.8 percent. Only Oregon, Florida and Vermont
had higher percentages.

A drug informant's allegations that a Marin narcotics agent offered
her leniency in exchange for three-way sex - and then sent a photo
of his penis to her cell phone - have left a legal mess at the Hall
of Justice that could take months to clean up.

The claims against former sheriff's Deputy Tyrone Williams have so
far led to the dismissal of two criminal cases, defense challenges
against three others, and at least one subpoena for Williams to
testify.

"It appears that an out-of-control officer assembled a coterie of
out-of-control informers and in that way polluted the criminal
process," attorney Douglas Horngrad, representing a Novato man
charged in a Williams investigation, wrote in a legal motion.

ALBANY-- The cops in the marked patrol car had circled through West
Hill a couple times keeping an eye on their female target. They were
part of the Street Drug Unit, an aggressive squad assigned to help
rid Albany's neighborhoods of drug dealers and addicts blamed for
much of the city's problems.

It was early evening and already dark when the patrol car's
emergency lights flashed in the rearview mirror of Lisa Shutter's
Mitsubishi sedan on Quail Street, just off Central Avenue.

Police records show the officers called out a "Signal 38" to alert a
dispatcher they were onto something suspicious and about to pull
someone over. They would later write in a report that they had
pulled her over for "failure to signal," although no ticket was
issued, according to police records shared with the Times Union.

The actions of police in the minutes that followed would end in
controversy rather than with an arrest. They would also leave
Shutter, a 28-year-old single mother from Ravena, shaken and angry
after one of the officers allegedly inserted his finger into
Shutter's vagina on a public street during an apparent search for
drugs.

When it was over, "I pulled off down the road and I just cried for
probably a half hour," Shutter said. "I called my dad. ... I felt
like I had been basically raped."

The incident has triggered an ongoing internal affairs investigation
by the Albany Police Department.

But the handling of that investigation has raised questions about
whether the department has sought to cover up the incident. Shutter
claims Burris Beattie, a commander in internal affairs, dissuaded
her from reporting the incident to a civilian police oversight
board.

Efforts to prohibit alcohol and curtail petrol sniffing in Australian
aboriginal communities have once again demonstrated that cannabis,
alcohol and other more problematic substances are economic
substitutes with cross-price elasticities. What's more, the
substitution fad appears to be spreading from young to old.

Police in Michigan, whom you may recall merely enforce the law,
offered their expert medical opinions in opposition to an initiative
that would regulate possession and personal cultivation for medical
purposes.

Police officials in New Hampshire are lobbying against a bill that
would decriminalize simple possession. Hopefully Richard Van Wickler
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, who supports the bill,
brought hand puppets.

A Modesto medicinal cannabis dispensary owner is suing the city
for conspiring with the DEA to shut down his very lucrative
business.

A move from petrol sniffing and alcohol to smoking cannabis is
creating a whole new set of problems in remote Aboriginal communities,
a new study shows.

The growing use of marijuana has also extended beyond youth to adults,
says the report in the Australian Journal of Rural Health, using
research from one Arnhem Land community in the Northern Territory.

The growth in cannabis use follows alcohol restrictions imposed by the
federal intervention in the territory, and the roll-out of non-
sniffable Opal fuel to combat petrol sniffing.

Report authors Dr Kate Senior and Dr Richard Chenhall, from the
Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, said marijuana was smoked
at home and often had a more immediate impact on domestic violence and
neglect than alcohol.

"The move from alcohol and petrol sniffing to marijuana use has
created a new set of problems, many of which arise in the domestic
setting, not outside the community," the report said.

"Rather than being a practice confined to distinct sub-populations -
as was the case for drinking and sniffing petrol - marijuana use is
widespread among both adults and youth."

As a result, Dr Senior said the prohibition of alcohol within the
remote Aboriginal community "without any attendant efforts to address
underlying social causes" had created a new set of problems.

"The existing marijuana market has grown and its use has extended
beyond youths to include adults," she said.

A proposal to legalize marijuana for medical purposes does not have
the support of Livingston County authorities, who say such action
could lead to bigger troubles.

Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte said Tuesday that opening the
door to legalization of marijuana is "ridiculous."

"It would be a nightmare for law enforcement," he said.

The Board of State Canvassers OK'd petitions Monday to put the issue
before state lawmakers. If lawmakers don't approve the measure within
40 days, the proposal will be placed on the November ballot for voters
to decide.

That may be the most likely scenario because lawmakers haven't acted
on similar legislation introduced in recent years. Capt. John Kowalski
of the Howell Police Department said he is not convinced there is any
legitimate medical use of marijuana.

"I think the person who uses it may have some psychological
'easement,' but I haven't seen any data that says marijuana has a
legitimate use," he said.

The Michigan initiative would allow patients to grow and use small
amounts of marijuana for relief from pain associated with cancer,
AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

Under the proposal, a doctor's approval or recommendation would be
required to use the drug. Registry cards would be created so police
could tell who was a registered patient with an OK to use the drug.

[snip]

Kowalski and Bezotte agree that it is unnecessary to legalize
marijuana for medicinal purposes because there already exists approved
prescription medications to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

"It's been proven that marijuana leads to other drugs," Bezotte said.
"Where is it going to stop? Will we legalize cocaine?"

Alaska has done it. So has California, Colorado, Nevada, Minnesota,
Mississippi and Maine. A total of 12 states have enacted some version
of marijuana decriminalization since 1973 and supporters of a small
marijuana reform bill in the New Hampshire Legislature are asking, why
not here?

David Welch, one of Weare's fellow members on the House Criminal
Justice and Public Safety Committee, understands the concerns of
decriminalization critics but the Kingston Republican believes it's
time to talk - especially about the long-term potential harm to young
people caught in the capricious nature of the criminal justice system.

Welch said that "young people do a lot of foolish things" and that a
misdemeanor record for possessing a small amount of marijuana can
haunt someone for life. They can be banned from scholarships and
federal Pell grants - or even from serving as a police officer and in
the armed forces.

"It's a debate we need," the 12-term legislator told Seacoast Sunday.
"It's about time we had a discussion about marijuana use on the floor
of the House."

[snip]

The bill is strongly opposed by a wide range of law enforcement
agencies across the state and state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte
because it might condone marijuana use or would be the first step to
wider legalization.

Rep. Otto Grote, D-Rye, is opposed to the bill and was not persuaded
by the "various long presentations" he saw at the hearings.

But the law enforcement consensus is not unanimous. Rep. John Tholl,
R-Whitefield, voted in favor of the bill in subcommittee and he's the
police chief of Dalton. And one of the state's most passionate
critics against current drug policy is Richard Van Wickler, the
superintendent of the Cheshire County Jail.

A Modesto man who managed a medical marijuana dispensary on McHenry
Avenue is suing the city, saying local authorities conspired with the
federal government to shut down a lucrative business that raked in $6
million in less than two years.

Luke Scarmazzo, formerly the treasurer and secretary of California
Healthcare Collective, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Stanislaus County
Superior Court, seeking compensation for emotional distress, mental
anguish and the loss of a job that paid him $13,000 a month.

Scarmazzo said he cooperated with local officials even as the City
Council sought to ban pot clubs, turning over business records to show
that everything was on the up and up. In return, he said, the city
shared information with federal authorities, who shuttered the
dispensary after a September 2006 raid.

In his lawsuit, Scarmazzo claims that the city worked in concert with
the federal Drug Enforcement Agency so it could close the business
without compensating its owners. He wants the city to pay the fair
market value of the dispensary at the time it was closed -- $3.8
million.

"This was something that was legal in our state," Scarmazzo said
during a recent interview with former business partner Ricardo Montes
and defense attorney Robert Forkner.

The lawsuit is an offshoot of a criminal case against Scar-mazzo,
Montes and four others who face federal drug trafficking charges and
are scheduled for trial April 15 in U.S. District Court in Fresno.
Scarmazzo, 27, is free on $400,000 bail. Montes, 27, is free on
$250,000 bail.

The dispensary operators said city officials negotiated in bad faith,
because they said they wanted to shut the business down after a six-
month amortization period, but were collecting information that fueled
a federal investigation.

If Canadians thought their laws were made-in-Canada, they received a
shock last week when the head of the U.N. drug control board, Philip
Emafo, called on Canada to ban Insite, North America's only
supervised-injection center. The center, credited for saving lives
from accidental overdose, "cannot go on forever," proclaimed Emafo.
But Nathan Allen, co-ordinator for the Insite For Community Safety
campaign, says Insite is not violating any treaties. "Insite is in
compliance, and all it's doing is providing an intake bridge to
recovery for users,"

Meanwhile in Canada, Harper's Draconian new supposedly "anti-crime"
laws Bill C-26, continued to worm its way through parliament,
denounced by criminologists and just about everyone else who doesn't
stand to directly gain monetarily from the Bill's passage. As such,
police associations, crown attorneys, prison profiteers and other
assorted drug war camp followers heartily support the government
scheme to pack newly-built for-profit prisons, just like they do in
the states. "Most grow-ops are mom and pop operations, and they are
generally non-violent. Mom and pop might be scared off by tougher
legislation, but organized crime is not dissuaded. If mom and pop go
out of business, organized crime will leap into the vacuum, and
organized crime is violent and dangerous."

The "latest" drugs scare is dutifully transmitted with the all the
speed and efficiency of a modern communications system. However,
when the original scare stories turn out to be false, that same
modern mainstream media is somehow muffled. Which might explain how
a West Oxfordshire U.K. police officer was taken in by a warning of
sinister child-corrupting Strawberry Quick Meth. You know, the meth
we all read about last year, meth laced with strawberry flavor to
make it easier for schoolyard pushers to hook unwary kids? Trouble
is, Strawberry Meth is as real as Blue Star' temporary tattoo LSD -
another urban myth. The misunderstanding came to light after an
Oxfordshire police officer sounded the ill-conceived warning to
schools there.

Why did Moses hear God on the mountain? Drugs. Moses was dosing on
heavy psychedelic drugs, according to cognitive psychology professor
Benny Shanon of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "As far as Moses on
Mount Sinai is concerned, it was... an event that joined Moses and
the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics." Psychedelic
drugs might have accounted for Moses seeing the burning bush. "The
Bible says people see sounds, and that is a classic phenomenon."

UNITED NATIONS - The head of the United Nations drug control board
put the federal government on notice yesterday to rein in provincial
and other health authorities deemed to be flouting international
treaties aimed at combating illicit drug use.

Speaking just ahead of today's release of the board's annual report,
Philip Emafo signalled the federal government could do more to make
sure all parts of Canada respect the agreements.

In the new report, the International Narcotics Control Board calls
on Canada to ban various community-backed programs that enable
illicit drug use.

However, health groups running them say the programs aim to help
drug abusers kick the habit, or at least not to become any sicker.

They've pushed to keep them operational despite successive the
board's calls for them to close.

"It cannot go on forever," Mr. Emafo said from Vienna, where he
serves as board president.

"We want the government of Canada to be in compliance with their
treaty obligations, but there is an internal problem, and we would
urge the government of Canada to sort (it) out."

[snip]

Specifically mentioned is the "safer crack kit" that the Vancouver
Island Health Authority was giving away, while Ottawa and Toronto
are listed as cities where similar distribution programs are under
way.

[snip]

However, the report says the kits' distribution contravenes an
article in the 1988 UN anti-drug trafficking convention that Canada
signed.

The article says governments should not allow trade in drug
equipment.

In calling for a ban on drug injection sites, the report is
repeating a call made last year that mainly focused on the Vancouver
facility Insite, which bills itself as a "clean, safe environment
where users can inject their own drugs off the streets."

The board has said the Insite facility contravenes a 1961 treaty
signed by Canada. It says countries should pass laws ensuring drugs
are used only for medical or scientific purposes.

[snip]

"It's clear from the legal brief that Insite is in compliance, and
all it's doing is providing an intake bridge to recovery for users,"
said Nathan Allen, co-ordinator for the Insite For Community Safety
campaign.

Eugene Oscapella is a criminologist who teaches at the University of
Ottawa. He dresses like a modern academic hipster: short leather
jacket, blue shirt, dark tie, grey strides. He is also a lawyer who
is sharp on the subject of drug policy. He was in town recently,
speaking to front-line health and harm-reduction workers about the
perils of the government's proposed crime legislation.

Let me give you a tip. If Bill C-26 is enacted into law, and you own
stock in companies that build jails, you stand to make a killing;
prison is about to become a growth industry in Canada.

[snip]

What does Bill C-26 do?

Among many other things, it provides mandatory minimum sentences of
a year in jail for people who deal drugs on behalf of organized
crime, or who use weapons or violence; two years minimum for people
dealing coke, heroin or meth to kids, or for dealing drugs near
schools or other places frequented by kids; and two years minimum
for anyone growing at least 500 marijuana plants, with a maximum of
14 years, instead of the current seven.

[snip]

Speaking of the increase in penalties for running a marijuana
grow-op, Oscapella was genial but withering:

"Most grow-ops are mom and pop operations, and they are generally
non-violent. Mom and pop might be scared off by tougher legislation,
but organized crime is not dissuaded. If mom and pop go out of
business, organized crime will leap into the vacuum, and organized
crime is violent and dangerous."

In other words, the threat of increased punishment actually makes
things worse; call it the law of unintended consequences.

Bill C-26 also adds "aggravating factors" in the consideration of
sentencing: among these are whether the crime was committed in a
prison. This provoked scorn from Oscapella: "If we can't prevent the
sale of drugs in prison, how can we prevent the sale of drugs in
open society?"

[snip]

If it were me, I'd spend millions to provide drug treatment on
demand before I spend a lousy nickel on enforcing bad laws.

JERUSALEM - High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when
he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher
claims in a study published this week.

Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the
religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a
professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem wrote in the first issue of Time and Mind, a new
peer-reviewed British journal.

"As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a
supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which
I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an
event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of
narcotics," Prof. Shanon told Israeli public radio yesterday.

Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the "burning bush,"
suggested the Israeli researcher, who said he himself has dabbled
with such substances.

"The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a classic
phenomenon," he said citing the example of religious ceremonies in
the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to "see"
music.

Vienna, 5 March (United Nations Information Service)-The Vienna-based
International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) today called on
Governments to apply the law proportionately when prosecuting drug
offenders, as not doing so could undermine efforts to effectively
implement the very conventions that these laws seeks to enforce.

According to what the media described as "a United Nations report
released Wednesday" - more on that description in a moment - the soft
treatment of celebrity drug offenders gives young people the
impression that drug use is no big thing. Thus, it "could undermine
wider social efforts at reducing demand for drugs."

Cocaleros in Bolivia threathen to occupy the installations of the
United Nations in the country as well as those of Coca Cola in El Alto
in protest against the decision by the International Narcotics Control
Board (INCB) to "abolish or prohibit coca leaf chewing and the
manufacture of coca tea," according to the newspaper La Razon.

Kudos to Ms. O'Grady for pointing out some uncomfortable truths that
the federal government and many of our elected officials are afraid
to admit: The drug war is failing and prohibition has led to
thousands of violent deaths in Mexico.

It is shocking to think that more Mexicans died last year due to
drug prohibition than did American soldiers in Iraq. There is
nothing in the coca or marijuana plant that causes these deaths.
Rather, it is prohibition that creates a profit motive that people
are willing to kill for. Remember, when alcohol consumption was
illegal in this country we had Al Capone and shootouts in the
streets. Today, no one dies over the sale of a beer.

It is time for an honest and open international debate about
controlling, taxing and regulating illegal drugs so we can find an
exit strategy from this unwinnable war.

The word for this political season is "Change." We hear it from the
candidates and from the commentators and pundits, but mainly we hear
it from the voters. I'm starting to believe them. Change is in the
air; and it smells a lot like burning bud.

At the state level, three New England states -- Vermont,
Massachusetts, and now New Hampshire -- have some kind of
decriminalization bill actively in the legislative process; and the
debate is substantive in all of them. Medical marijuana is nearing
ballot status as a referendum in Wisconsin and has been introduced
into one mid-Atlantic legislature.

In the halls of Congress, the radical restructuring of crack cocaine
sentencing, including retroactive application has been accepted and
a needle exchange program for the District of Columbia has been
approved. At least one bill recognizing state medical marijuana
programs will probably be on the agenda for the next term. Perhaps
the two reforms of the last session will convince some politicians
that they can vote for reform without committing political suicide.

Internationally, Israel is set to begin free distribution of heroin
to addicts. Morales of Bolivia and Chavez of Venezuela are both
supporting native coca growers.

The American College of Physicians, the largest and most prestigious
organization of practicing doctors, has just passed a resolution
supporting medical marijuana, calling for its availability for some
patients and for more research. The clinical trials for using MDMA
in therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are progressing. An
Administrative Law Judge has recommended approval of a
marijuana-growing license for the University of Massachusetts.

Even more, the public is for change. Large majorities nationwide
favor making medical marijuana available to patients, and large
numbers oppose imprisonment for simple possession of marijuana.

But will any of those things happen? Won't next year just be
politics as usual.

I'm going to be braver than the pundits here. Nearly all of them are
predicting a Democratic President and larger Democratic majorities
in both houses of Congress. When I compare what I am seeing this
year with what I have seen in fifty years of watching presidential
politics, I predict that this year will bring a realignment -- both
in Congress and in the states -- larger than anything since FDR and
the New Deal routed the Republicans in 1932.

So what should Drug Reformers do? The first, and most important,
thing is to vote and to assist your favored candidates in
campaigning. The second is to never publicly ask one of your favored
candidates his or her position on a drug question. The issue is
still such a fright factor in politics that they will almost
certainly come up with some equivocating answer that makes them look
dumb. Instead, take an opportunity to ask that question of some one
you oppose and give him a chance to look ignorant or uncaring.

Next, begin planning and organizing now. The opening days and weeks
of a new Congress or legislature is when they will feel the most
powerful and confident and when the opposition will be most
demoralized. Petitions, resolutions, and proposed bills should reach
their targets between Election Day and the opening of the sessions.
And talk to them -- write, telephone, text, and if possible, visit
them. Let them know you care -- a lot.

I feel optimistic. Change IS in the air. But it takes a lot of
thought and work to pull that wispy idea out of the air and nail it
to solid ground. Change is in the air, but only you can make it
happen.

Buford C. Terrell is a retired law professor whose teaching fields
included drug laws, law and sex, First Amendment, and legal history.
He is also the host a public interest television show in Houston
called "Drugs, Crime, and Politics."

Policy and Law Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen Young (steve@drugsense.org), This Just In selection by
Richard Lake (rlake@drugsense.org), International content selection
and analysis by Doug Snead (doug@drugsense.org), Cannabis/Hemp
content selection and analysis, Hot Off The Net selection and Layout
by Matt Elrod (webmaster@drugsense.org). Analysis comments represent
the personal views of editors, not necessarily the views of
DrugSense.

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